Westpac will defend civil penalty proceeding bought by ASIC over allegations of poor financial advice by a single employee in Perth.On Friday, ASIC said it had commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia "in relation to alleged poor financial advice provided by one of its former financial planners, Mr Sudhir Sinha."ASIC alleges that, "in four sample client files selected by ASIC, Mr Sinha breached the 'best interests' duty under the Corporations Act, provided inappropriate financial advice, and failed to prioritise the interests of his clients."Sinha provided financial advice in the Perth area as an employee of Westpac from 2001 to November 2014. In June 2017, Sinha was banned by ASIC from providing financial services for a period of five years as a result of his failure to meet his ongoing advice service obligations.ASIC said it "contends, [that] as Mr Sinha's responsible licensee during that period, Westpac is liable for the alleged breaches. ASIC also alleges that Westpac contravened further sections of the Act, which require Westpac to do all things necessary to ensure that the financial services covered by its licence are provided efficiently, honestly and fairly, and to comply with financial services laws."ASIC said Westpac "has reported to ASIC that, as at 14 June 2018, it has paid $12 million in compensation to clients impacted by Mr Sinha's poor advice and ongoing advice service failures."